Introduction

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rang in 2023 by zeroing in on a new target: non-competes. On January 5, the FTC announced a new proposed rule banning the use of non-compete provisions in agreements with individuals. This announcement came only one day after the Commission announced actions against three companies that had entered into non-compete agreements with their respective employees. The FTC took the position that the non-compete provisions violated Section 5 of the FTC Act (which bans unfair methods of competition) and are therefore invalid.

This webinar will explore the FTC’s Rule and how, if passed, would affect hospitals and long-term care facilities and other health care practices. Individual physicians have voiced excitement for the change, while hospitals and facilities are terrified to lose their physicians.

We will explore what the Proposed Rule states, the law the FTC relied on to propose the Rule, and whether the Proposed Rule applies to all hospitals. We will talk about the exceptions to the Proposed Rule.

The “functional test for whether a contractual term is a non-compete clause” would include other types of provisions that act as non-compete clauses by effectively prohibiting workers from seeking or accepting other employment after the end of the employment with the employer. As examples of such de facto non-competes, the proposed rule points to broad non-disclosure obligations that effectively prevent employment in the same field, or provisions that require an employee to repay the employer for training where the payment is not reasonably related to the costs the employer incurred.

The proposed rule includes an exception for non-compete clauses between franchisors and individual franchisees, which would remain subject to federal antitrust law and other applicable law, and a limited exception for the sale of a business where the seller held at least 25% ownership interest in the business entity. Another exception is non-profit hospitals, which creates a huge loophole.

Finally, what are the rights of the employers? What does an employer need to do if he or she encounters a non-compete clause? How will this Proposed Rule be enforced?

Areas Covered In The Webinar

• Administrative Law
•   Health Care Law
•   Non-Compete Clauses
•   FTC
•   Hospitals that must abide by the new Proposed Rule
•  Exceptions to Proposed Rule
•  What the Application of the Proposed Rule Will Look Like
•   How Will Health Care Be Changed
• How Will the Proposed Rule Affect Patients

Why should you attend?

• Understand the FTC’s Proposed Rule
•  What is a non-compete
• To whom does the Proposed Rule apply
• What exceptions are there
• The functional test
•  What employers must do if no more non-compete
•  What employees should do if no more non-compete
•  Why did the FTC Propose this Rule
•  Is the FTC allowed to propose such a rule?

Who Will Benefit

• Hospital executives
•  Long-term care facility executives
• Physicians
•  Health Care Societies and Associations
• Health Care Attorneys
•  Physician Groups